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David (short film)
David is an early comedy-thriller short film written and directed by Elliot Strange for his senior thesis in 1983. Production This was the first professional film Strange has ever worked on. It was co-produced by Brian Grispon (through his funding company Charon Projects) and it featured Strange's then roommates. The film was believed to have been lost for years, but it has turned up on an old tape containing the film and what appears to be a young Strange taking part in a mock interview regarding the film. Plot David Elcary (Mike Long) is an insecure man who has witnessed his older brother Keith (Stuart Tenner) murder his best friend Richard (Donald Green) during his 11th birthday. He openly condemns his brother and relishes in the fact that he had Keith sent to a mental institution. He receives a call from the institution and is told that Keith is missing. David begins to panic and is shocked to find that his reflection is exactly like an older version of Keith. He calms himself down and tries to keep his cool. He receives another call from his father and to his surprise, is referred to as Keith. David is confused over people calling him Keith. He decides to look at his bills to prove to himself he's David and is surprised to find that his name is listed as Keith. He decides to go along with the charade and he watches TV. The show he's watching cuts to static, which slowly reveals Richard. Richard communicates with David, telling him about what happened and where he resides (he claims he's in Heaven). David tries to get info on why he's being referred to as his older brother, but is only given a vague idea on what's happening before Richard dissapears. David looks through his family album and is shocked to find that instead of him, it's Keith. Desperate to find out the truth, he goes up into the attic to find his old Christmas letters. He finds them and is disturbed to find that not only do the letters not refer to David as he is, but they're the exact letters from his childhood. He has a mental breakdown, but calms soon enough. Eventually, the real Keith arrives and tells him to leave the house. David wants answers from him, and Keith explains that he murdered Richard as part of a ritual. Keith intended to murder David so he could acquire his much better life, but Richard got in the way and died as a result. Keith's conviction stemmed from Richard confessing to the cops about him possessing narcotics. Keith breaks down, not wanting to go through with taking another life for the sake of his own. He tells David to leave so he could sacrifice himself to a group of demons. The demons arrive and they viciously murder Keith while David runs away. A splat of Keith's blood lands on one of David's letters, and David's name is present, not Keith's.